Copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, rocky, seagrass, at depths of 10–183 m.
Scientific name: Sebastes caurinus · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 66 cm
Weight: up to 4.5 kg
The copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus), also called the copper seaperch, chucklehead or white belly rockfish, is a widespread, variably coloured Sebastinae rockfish ranging from dark reddish brown with pale copper blotching to lighter pinkish brown with yellowish white mottling; it produces sound with its swimbladder for territory defence and, like other rockfish, is ovoviviparous with a gestation of about ten months. It is known from the northern Gulf of Alaska to the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula north of Guerrero Negro, and is a demersal fish of high-relief rocky areas from about 10 to 183 m, with juveniles almost exclusively in kelp beds and shallow rocky areas. In the United States it is one of the most familiar rockfish for anglers from Alaska and Washington down through Oregon to California, taken from boats on bottom rigs with squid or fish baits and from shore over rocky structure; it reaches a maximum of 66 cm total length and 4.5 kg and can live over forty years.
Caution: has venomous spines. Take great care when unhooking and handling; the sting is extremely painful.
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